Articles

Swirling FX and ethereal dynamics? Err, yes please!
Then let's hear it for LYCA SLEEP, possibly the finest thing to come out of Leeds since Paul Hart, and with a glowing penchant in tumultuous soundscapes a la Sigur Ros and My Bloody Valentine...»

Art for art's sake? In a world where shitting on a bed and placing a half eaten kebab inside a glass cabinet is considered "art", it's perhaps no surprise that 1/3 of tonight's offering had to involve artistic merit of a similar variety but I guess you shouldn't tar everyone with the same brush, right?»

“I think there’s a difference between tact and lies. People tend to mistake one for the other. I want everyone’s tact turned off. I think if that happened people would just do what they actually wanted to do, say what they wanted to say, rather than say what they think they should say because it’s more tactful, whether they believe it or not.”»

They may be the sons of legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, but thanks to three critically acclaimed albums, The Webb Brothers are managing to carve their own names into rock'n'roll's JD and coke drenched annals.»

Already cast as being "the most exciting new band in the UK" by a rapidly growing number of devotees, Lincoln's 22-20s are currently forging the most spontaneous mix of blues and rock'n'roll since Mick Jagger learnt how to say "I used to love her, but it's all over now" in a pseudo Cockney-Texan drawl.»

Every once in a while, an album comes along that provides aural shock therapy and leaves you gasping with exasperation for days after. When that record is the artists' debut, then what else can you do except marvel at it's greatness?»

With guitars being back in fashion, and the emphasis purely focused on songwriting, it's to be expected that 9/10 new demos arriving through the post will be made by a bunch of young upstarts proclaiming themselves to be undiscovered rock gods in waiting.
With that in mind, I undid the packaging to this CD with s»

"Sugar and spice,isn't it nice, luring disco dollies to a life of vice..." sang Marc Almond almost a quarter of a century ago, blissfully unaware that his words wouldn't go unheeded in places as far and wide as downtown Brooklyn.
It's hard to envisage whether Motormark were even born w»

Sometimes apathy can spoil a good thing...
Or at least that's my way of thinking after witnessing tonight's surprisingly poor turnout. Particularly as it was for one of Bob Fairfoull's first public outings south of the border since his acrimonious split from Idlewild earlier this year.
Funnily»

Fasten up your jackets, air those woolly socks and scrape the dandruff out of that Stussy ski-hat. Winter's on its way folks and there's nothing you can do about it, 'cept maybe live in Airport Girl's perennial summer world where dark nights don't exist, ice is for chilling soft drinks and Frosty The Snowma»

And so the US indie circuit's fascination with all things 1979 to 1988 continues, as by the end of the first verse of 'Jenny', we've had the obligatory Cure guitar hook, XTC bass riff, and David Byrne soundalike frontman while Kim Deal hums 'Echo Beach' in the background, and y»

Vive la revolution!
They say it's grim up north, but they sure as hell didn't tell the cold souls of Wakefield, and as for the lads from Leeds...well...it's business as usual... unless your name's Woodgate or Bowyer, in which case a trip up the A1 might do the trick. But that's »

Quirky voices, off-kilter guitars, oh so cleverly referenced lyrics – all sound familiar? Right. Err, wrong, see it’s not Mark E Smith and the latest Fall line-up, although I’m sure this Welsh trio won’t have any complaints being likened to such an incongruous institution as the Mancunian anti-hierar»

It’s not very often that something comes along, immediately grabs you by the ears and literally DEMANDS your attention, particularly when that “something” has crossed the Atlantic and admits to being influenced by quintessentially English artists – y’see when the Yanks get it wrong, they seem to be t»

When Robin Hood (allegedly) took on the Sheriff of Nottingham and the County's aristocracy some 700+ years ago, he probably wouldn't have bargained for 2000 people singing "Don't give me love, I want none of that stuff cos it's your MONEY I'M AFTER BABY!".
Likewise, when Miles Hun»

What would be your ideal soundtrack for the summer?
Mine would probably include the obvious suncharmers like the Beach Boys' 'Good Vibrations' and Groove Armada's 'At The River' spiced with the blissful comedown of My Bloody Valentine's 'Soon' and Spacemen 3's 'Rollercoaster', »

The story of Pete Best seems to have been repeated ad infinitum since 1963, and I'm sure the likes of Glen Matlock, Keith Levine, Andy Couzens, Siobhan Donaghy and Stephen Duffy have their own stories to tell about how they were unceremoniously dumped prior to their former bandmates' ascent to megastardom.
Joh»

It's amazing what a bit of television coverage over the Glastonbury weekend can do.
Just over six months ago, the Polyphonic Spree played here to little over 200 aghast spectators, yet a few features in the daily press later and every man and his dog appears to be sporting ridiculously oversize»

Brighton's most famous Cramps-aspiring ghouls The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster have been forced to cancel their show at Mansfield's Mill venue on Friday 4th July due to "a sudden bout of illness" amongst certain band members.
The show was originally planned to coincide with The Mill's firs»

A geeky Mancunian by the name of Steven Morrissey once said “Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…”, and while I’m in no way insinuating that Leeds-based four piece Fulc sound anything like the undisputed champions of 1980s indiedom, there are several moments on ‘Biting Insomnia’ where de»

The word "change" is supposed to synonymous with the word "improvement", so in that case how come the term "Indie Pop" has moved from being a description of sensitive, gentile yet left of centre songwriting to implying everything that's wrong with modern culture, namely lads in designer clothes thr»

BRITISH SEA POWER are one of those bands who seem to have sprung up on the blindside, virtually unnoticed by the governors at IPC yet revered by an increasing number of adoring fans who have thrown their Stereophonics t-shirts in the bin, choosing instead to don military gear just like their heroes»